New York, Palm Beach, and global society photographer extraordinaire Annie Watt, and Annie Watt Agency (AWA) hosted the 20th anniversary at The Consolute in New York. Lite bites and libations were served to over 140 guests, with over 300 photographs printed, capturing two decades of charity galas, cultural events, private celebrations, and notable personalities. A group of guests flew in to support Annie Watt from Palm Beach. 

 

 Annie’s 20th celebration and exhibit benefited the School of Visual Arts, where she graduated in 1974, after receiving her 4-year scholarship. The exhibition featured photographs from events covered in New York, Palm Beach, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Rome. It also included videos from previous AWA fundraising exhibitions, which highlighted the agency’s history of documenting society and philanthropy.

 

 

Annie Watt has been a fixture in high society for over 20 years; thus, she became a personal friend to many. So, in a very time-consuming  (I know because I asked) and uniquely personal tribute, the exhibition featured photographs of every guest. The exhibition mirrored the guest list. Guests were encouraged to find their photographs among the displays and take them home as cherished mementos.

 

Guests included Geoffrey Bradfield and William Featherby; Lee and CeCe Black; Anki Leeds; Sharon Bush; Karen Klopp; Eileen Judell; Sharon King Hoge; Angela Cason; Michelle Larsen; Cece Cord; Charles Holmes; Christopher Walling; Michel Witmer; Anne Akers; Sharon Marantz Walsh; Jane Pontarelli; Lillian Heidenberg; Mar Morosse; Vicky McLoughlin; Susan Gutfriend; Judy Gilbert; Olga D’Alto; David Hochberg; Patricia and Thomas Shiah; and Rolise Rachel.

Among the Palm Beach guests were Shannon Donnelly, Guy Clark, Diana Davis and Lawrence Mitchell, Tom Villanti and his niece Melissa Garafola, Mary Bryant McCord, and AlexAnndra Ontra. Together, the guests celebrated two memorable decades of photography, friendship, and philanthropy.

Five AWA photographers—Amber De Vos, Barry Williams, David DuPuy, Daniel Perry, and Frank Rocco—captured the evening’s festivities, while guests posed for Steven Rosen Photography’s Portable Portraits.

This exhibition celebrated the Annie Watt Agency’s first 20 years and thanked the people, charities, photographers, and media who have been part of the journey. 

Her photographers are also participating in this year’s fundraising by donating “a photography experience”

Annie Watt is one of the most respected society and event photographers working today, known for transforming fleeting moments into timeless portraits. Over more than two decades, she has built a reputation as the “Posing Expert,” guiding subjects with a practiced eye for elegance, confidence, and natural expression. Her signature approach—equal parts technical mastery and human insight—has made her a sought-after presence at high-profile galas, philanthropic events, and milestone celebrations in Palm Beach, New York, and internationally. Watt’s career began with a simple conviction: that everyone, regardless of status or experience, deserves to look and feel extraordinary in front of the camera. This philosophy shaped the creation of the Annie Watt Agency (AWA), now a premier event photography company operating across South Florida, New York, the Hamptons, Los Angeles, London, and Rome.

Supported by a network of skilled photographers, AWA delivers refined photography, while offering clients strategic media outreach through Watt’s long standing relationships with editors and publications. Her work regularly appears in leading outlets, including Hearst magazines, New York Social Diary, Palm Beach Social Diary, Palm Beach Illustrated, New York Lifestyles, and Metropolitan magazine. Beyond her commercial success, Watt integrates philanthropy into her artistic practice, hosting exhibitions such as Impromptu Portraits: A Distinguished Decade in New York and Palm Beach, with proceeds benefiting organizations including the American Heart Association, The Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope, the Viner Foundation, The School of Visual Arts, and The Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach. Watt’s images reflect her enduring belief: that great photography reveals not just how people look, but who they are.

Article by Rolise Rachel

The Family Office Summit

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